Top Cancer Doctor Resigns as Editor of Medical Journal, Joins AstraZeneca

by Katie Thomas, The New York Times, and Charles Ornstein, ProPublica

Top Cancer Doctor Resigns as Editor of Medical Journal

Dr. José Baselga, the former chief medical officer of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, resigned under pressure on Wednesday as one of the editors in chief of Cancer Discovery, a prominent scientific journal, after he failed to accurately disclose his conflicts of interest in dozens of articles in medical journals.


The American Association for Cancer Research, which publishes the journal, said a panel of experts and the group’s board of directors had concluded that “Dr. Baselga did not adhere to the high standards pertaining to conflict of interest disclosures that the AACR expects of its leadership.”


“Consequently, Dr. Baselga was asked to resign from his role at the journal,” said a statement sent to the association’s members.


Baselga, a prominent figure in the world of cancer research, had helped found the journal and served as an editor for the past eight years. The AACR, which he formerly led as president, concluded that his omissions were inadvertent and said it would allow Baselga to continue publishing in its journals.


“Dr. Baselga is a valued member of the AACR with acknowledged expertise in clinical and translational cancer research,” Dr. Margaret Foti, the group’s chief executive, said in the statement.


Baselga’s disclosure lapses have prompted a broader discussion over the influence of the drug and health care industries on medical research, including whether journals should do a better job of ensuring that researchers accurately report their corporate ties. Teaching hospitals across the country have reminded faculty members of their obligation to disclose, and some have begun re-examining which relationships are appropriate.





Baselga resigned as chief medical officer of Memorial Sloan Kettering in September after The New York Times and ProPublica reported that he had failed to disclose millions of dollars in payments from health care companies in dozens of research articles. He also resigned from the boards of the drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb and Varian Medical Systems, a maker of radiation equipment.


Contacted for comment, Baselga provided the resignation letter he sent to the AACR. In it, he thanked the cancer organization for its “deliberate and thorough review” and said he takes “great heart from the panel’s finding that my failure to disclose was inadvertent. I understand, however, that the situation made it difficult for me to continue in a leadership role.”



Baselga, 59, is an expert in breast cancer research and played a key role in the development of Herceptin by Genentech, a subsidiary of Roche. He came to Memorial Sloan Kettering in 2013 after serving as chief of hematology and oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Before that, he was a leader at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, Spain.


Since September, Baselga has corrected his conflict-of-interest disclosures in several journals, including twoin The New England Journal of Medicine, three inClinical CancerResearch, five in JAMA Oncologyand two inCancer Discovery.


In a note that accompanied Baselga’s correction in The New England Journal of Medicine, editors described his failure as a “breach of trust.”


Baselga also revised disclosures with the American Society of Clinical Oncology, which said that his participation in future meetings will be contingent on a review of his presentation slides and that his sessions would be monitored for evidence of bias.


The group also said that if Baselga did not disclose his interactions in the future, he would be barred from participating in any meetings sponsored by ASCO for two years.


ProPublica and The Times found that Baselga had failed to report any industry ties in 60 percent of the nearly 180 papers he had published since 2013. That figure increased each year — he did not disclose any relationships in 87 percent of the journal articles that he co-wrote last year.


The AACR said its panel of experts will continue to look at conflict-of-interest disclosures, including how to “best harmonize such disclosures and provide greater clarity around these issues.”



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Veeva Ranked 2nd Fastest-Growing Enterprise Software Company by Fortune Magazine (Press Release)

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Veeva Ranked 2nd Fastest-Growing Enterprise Software Company by Fortune Magazine
Fortune recognition among additional accolades from Deloitte, PM360, and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing for continued growth and innovation

January 08, 2019 07:03 AM Eastern Standard Time
PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Veeva Systems (NYSE:VEEV) today announced that it was ranked the second fastest-growing enterprise software company on Fortune magazine’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list and one of the fastest-growing software companies in Deloitte’s 2018 Technology Fast 500™ survey.

Veeva was ranked the 2nd fastest-growing enterprise software company on Fortune's 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list, among other industry accolades from Deloitte, PM360, and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing for continued growth and innovation.
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PM360 magazine also recognized Veeva’s continued product innovation and leadership, naming Veeva Nitro one of the most innovative products of 2018. In addition, Pharmaceutical Manufacturing magazine named Veeva Vault Training as a Pharma Innovation Award winner for advancing role-based training in quality manufacturing.

“Thanks to the Veeva team for their focused execution and commitment to product excellence,” said Peter Gassner, founder and CEO of Veeva. “We’re proud of the strong partnership we have forged with the life sciences industry and the continued opportunities to support our customers’ success.”

Fortune Ranks Veeva as Fast-Growing Company for Second Consecutive Year

Fortune ranked Veeva the second fastest-growing enterprise software company and number 18 overall on its 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list. The annual list ranks the top performers in revenues, profits, and stock returns over the past three years.

Deloitte Names Veeva a 2018 Technology Fast 500™ Winner

Deloitte recognized Veeva as one of the fastest-growing public and private technology companies in North America. This is the fifth consecutive year that Veeva has been named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™.

“These companies are innovators who have converted their disruptive ideas into products, services, and experiences that can captivate new customers and drive remarkable growth,” said Sandra Shirai, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP, and U.S. technology, media, and telecommunications leader.

PM360 Selects Veeva Nitro as a 2018 Most Innovative Product

In its annual Innovations Issue, PM360 recognized Veeva Nitro as one of 2018’s Most Innovative Products. Veeva Nitro eliminates the time and effort of custom data warehouse development and maintenance with an industry-specific solution for life sciences that is analytics and AI-ready.

“Our selections represent the companies, offerings, and strategies that demonstrate what we believe is unique in their ability to impact the industry,” said Anna Stashower, CEO and publisher of PM360. “We hope others in the industry are able to work with these innovators or use these innovations to better serve patients, physicians, and other healthcare stakeholders.”

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Recognizes Veeva for Product Innovation

The Pharma Innovation Award highlights technologies and systems from companies that have distinguished themselves as industry leaders. Pharmaceutical Manufacturing acknowledged Veeva Vault Training for delivering a centralized view of training across an organization.

“Veeva’s training system has the potential to reduce validation times from months to days,” said Karen Langhauser, chief content director at Pharmaceutical Manufacturing. “Pharmaceutical equipment suppliers invest a large amount of time into their products, so we feel this innovation should be recognized.”

Additional Information

Connect with Veeva on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/veeva-systems

Follow @veevasystems on Twitter: twitter.com/veevasystems

Like Veeva on Facebook: facebook.com/veevasystems

About Veeva Systems

Veeva Systems Inc. is a leader in cloud-based software for the global life sciences industry. Committed to innovation, product excellence, and customer success, Veeva has more than 675 customers, ranging from the world's largest pharmaceutical companies to emerging biotechs. Veeva is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. For more information, visit veeva.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements, including the market demand for and acceptance of Veeva’s products and services, the results from use of Veeva’s products and services, and general business conditions, particularly in the life sciences industry. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon Veeva’s historical performance and its current plans, estimates, and expectations, and are not a representation that such plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved. These forward-looking statements represent Veeva’s expectations as of the date of this press announcement. Subsequent events may cause these expectations to change, and Veeva disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements in the future. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect Veeva’s financial results are included under the captions, “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in the company’s filing on Form 10-Q for the period ended October 31, 2018. This is available on the company’s website at veeva.com under the Investors section and on the SEC’s website at sec.gov. Further information on potential risks that could affect actual results will be included in other filings Veeva makes with the SEC from time to time.

Contacts
Roger Villareal
Veeva Systems
925-264-8885
roger.villareal@veeva.com

Lisa Barbadora
Veeva Systems
610-420-3413
pr@veeva.com